Resources

Each speech cue represents only one sound, but it can be hard to tell what the hand movements are for some of the cues. Here is a complete description of each cue. For many cues voiced sounds (you wil feel buzzing on the throat) use the whole hand and voiceless sounds (no throat buzzing) use one finger. The hand cues somewhat show what the mouth is doing for that sound. You should say the sound as you perform the hand cue. You may download and print the Speech Cue Cards for free personal or educational use.

Consonants:

b- tap hand over lips

p- tap pointer finger over lips

t- with hand sideways, tap pointer finger above lips

d- with hand sideways, tap entire hand above lips

k- tap pointer finger on throat

g- tap hand on throat

f- move pointer finger away and down from lips

v- move hand away and down from lips

s- with hand sideways, move pointer finger in a straight line away from mouth

z- with hand sideways, move entire hand in a straight line away from mouth

sh- move hand away from mouth in a "c" shape

ch- move a fisted hand straight down in front of face

j- move a fisted hand across left to right in front of body

h- hold hand in front of mouth to feel air movement

l- hold an "l" shaped hand near the face

r- hold a cupped hand near the face

w- move three fingers in a circle in front of the mouth

m- hold hand over nose

n- hold two fingers on either side of nose

Vowels:

Smile vowels- hold the thumb and pointer finger under a smile, these are any vowels which include a smile mouth shape, such as "ee", "i", "e", "a", "ae"

Open vowels- hold the hand under an open mouth, these include the "o" and "aw" sounds

Round vowels- make a circle around the lips with the pointer finger, these include the "oa" and "oo" sounds